The 40 Day Fast – Day 8

A couple years ago I began hearing about a new concept called “microfinance.” The big idea here is just what it sounds like, making small loans, with low or no interest in order to finance a business. So what does all of this have to do with injustice and oppression in our world? That’s the same question that I had until I came across Kiva.

I quickly understood the role that I could play, through Kiva, in actually doing something to take action against oppression all over the world.

Before microfinance there was only one option for people in developing nations that needed money for their family or business and that was to visit a local money lender. Typically the lender would have terms for the loan that stipulated that the goods or services must be sold through the lender only, the loan would have an outrageous interest rate (some upwards of 500%,) and typical loans could only be paid back in one lump sum (no installments to reduce the principal that was accruing interest.) The obvious outcome of this practice is that the receiver of the loan becomes a bonded slave to the lender.

Kiva gives you the opportunity to connect with other lenders and then to small business owners in developing nations through loan organizations that it partners with. The beauty of this is that by simply putting up a few dollars you can help an individual or family to remain free, out of slavery.

Here is how I use Kiva. I have decided to just set aside a certain portion of my monthly spending to make a loan on Kiva (my lender page, my youth ministry’s lender page.) Then, when the loans are repayed, I will reinvest them into another business owner! Imagine the impact after a couple years! Imagine the impact if all of us did the same thing! Imagine being the conduit to enable a small business owner in a developing nation to invest in another small business owner simply by paying back their loan and trusting you to reinvest!

Take a minute to pray about how you could live differently so that you could use some of your resources to give some people the gift of freedom. Then, if you are ready to take action, simply click on the link below to find out more about that individual who needs a loan or surf around Kiva to find a person or group you would like to loan to!

More about Kiva from their “about” page by clicking the continuing reading link and make sure you visit Licia’s Haiti Rescue Center Blog today!-

Kiva’s mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.

The people you see on Kiva’s site are real individuals in need of funding – not marketing material. When you browse entrepreneurs’ profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need.

Kiva partners with existing expert microfinance institutions. In doing so, we gain access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide. Our partners are experts in choosing qualified entrepreneurs. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva, our partners upload their entrepreneur profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them. When you do, not only do you get a unique experience connecting to a specific entreprenuer on the other side of the planet, but our microfinance partners can do more of what they do, more efficiently.

Kiva provides a data-rich, transparent lending platform. We are constantly working to make the system more transparent to show how money flows throughout the entire cycle, and what effect it has on the people and institutions lending it, borrowing it, and managing it along the way. To do this, we are using the power of the internet to facilitate one-to-one connections that were previously prohibitively expensive. Child sponsorship has always been a high overhead business. Kiva creates a similar interpersonal connection at much lower costs due to the instant, inexpensive nature of internet delivery. The individuals featured on our website are real people who need a loan and are waiting for socially-minded individuals like you to lend them money.